Medway board reviews Trotter Drive projects

MEDWAY - The Planning and Economic Development Board held hearings for two projects on Trotter Drive at its most recent meeting, with local officials calling interest in the area a positive step.

The board met last week to consider, among other things, projects at 20 Trotter Drive and 17 Trotter Drive. Town Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Susan Affleck-Childs said the properties fell within an industrial park, just south of the "Bottle Cap" lots.

Affleck-Childs said the board issued a favorable ruling on an expansion for Merrimack Building Supply at 20 Trotter Drive. That project, she said, called for a 19,000-square-foot addition to a currently existing building.

"The site plan was for the construction of the addition building, as well as all kinds of infrastructure," she said. "The site did not have storm water drainage (before), so that's part of the project."

According to the town website, the project also features expanded parking, a new loading dock and connection to the town sewer system.

The board, Affleck-Childs said, will continue its hearing on the 17 Trotter Drive project, which would bring the company M.E. O'Brien & Sons to town.

"They're a manufacturer's representative for playground equipment makers - they design playground systems," she said. "They don't manufacture or store the equipment. They're more of a design group."

Affleck-Childs said the company has a purchase and sale agreement in place for the Trotter Drive parcel, and is seeking to build a 10,531-square-foot building at the site.

"They've been in Medfield for many years," she said, adding that the company is looking to move to the Medway property. "(The building) would be for office and warehousing space."

According to Affleck-Childs, the board will likely consider the matter for a couple more meetings before voting on a decision.

Affleck-Childs said interest in the area was a positive endeavor for the industrial park and the town. She said there had been an effort to encourage activity at the park, and that the town - with funding assistance from the state - had engaged in a sewer expansion project there in recent years.

"It's great - it's fantastic," she said of the interest.

Mike Gleason can be reached at 508-634-7546 or mgleason@wickedlocal.com. For news throughout the day, follow him on Twitter @MGleason_MDN.